February 17, 2006: Headlines: NPCA: Military: Safety and Security of Volunteers: Speaking Out: Washington Post: Congress cancels a military enlistment option that would have allowed some U.S. troops to fulfill part of their military obligation by serving in the Peace Corps

Congress cancels a military enlistment option that would have allowed some U.S. troops to fulfill part of their military obligation by serving in the Peace Corps

The National Peace Corps Association, a group of returned Peace Corps volunteers and staff, complained that the recruitment program would blur a bright line that had been respected since the agency's inception in 1961. It argued that if Peace Corps volunteers came to be seen as soldiers in disguise, their safety and effectiveness would be at risk overseas.

Heeding objections from Peace Corps volunteers, Congress has canceled a military enlistment option that would have allowed some U.S. troops to fulfill part of their military obligation by serving in the Peace Corps starting next year.

The National Peace Corps Association, a group of returned Peace Corps volunteers and staff, complained that the recruitment program would blur a bright line that had been respected since the agency's inception in 1961. It argued that if Peace Corps volunteers came to be seen as soldiers in disguise, their safety and effectiveness would be at risk overseas.

The program was eliminated -- before it ever truly took effect -- by legislation introduced in the Senate by Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.), and in the House by Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.), after The Washington Post wrote about the Peace Corps' concerns in August.

The bipartisan bill was incorporated as an amendment to the 2006 Defense Authorization Act, which Congress passed in mid-December and President Bush signed into law Jan. 6.

"Both military service and Peace Corps service are valuable and honorable, but they're different functions, and they need to be kept distinct and separate," Kline said yesterday.

Congress had originally created the National Call to Service program with little or no debate in 2002. Peace Corps Director Gaddi H. Vasquez told The Post last year that he was not aware of it until after its passage. He said he "could live with it" because the Peace Corps, not the military, retained final authority to decide who could join the Corps.

The first group of about 4,300 recruits would have been eligible to apply to the Peace Corps under the program in 2007, after serving at least 18 months on active duty and two years in the National Guard or the military reserves.

Under the revised National Call to Service, they still can apply to fulfill their military obligations by serving in AmeriCorps, the domestic national service program. Military veterans also remain eligible to serve in the Peace Corps, but "there is no formal linkage between the military and the Peace Corps," said Kevin Quigley, president of the National Peace Corps Association.

-- Alan Cooperman

When this story was posted in February 2006, this was on the front page of PCOL:

RPCV admits to abuse while in Peace CorpsTimothy Ronald Obert has pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a minor in Costa Rica while serving there as a Peace Corps volunteer. "The Peace Corps has a zero tolerance policy for misconduct that violates the law or standards of conduct established by the Peace Corps," said Peace Corps Director Gaddi H. Vasquez. Could inadequate screening have been partly to blame? Mr. Obert's resume, which he had submitted to the Peace Corps in support of his application to become a Peace Corps Volunteer, showed that he had repeatedly sought and obtained positions working with underprivileged children. Read what RPCVs have to say about this case.

Why blurring the lines puts PCVs in dangerWhen the National Call to Service legislation was amended to include Peace Corps in December of 2002, this country had not yet invaded Iraq and was not in prolonged military engagement in the Middle East, as it is now. Read the story of how one volunteer spent three years in captivity from 1976 to 1980 as the hostage of a insurrection group in Colombia in Joanne Marie Roll's op-ed on why this legislation may put soldier/PCVs in the same kind of danger. Latest: Read the ongoing dialog on the subject.

PC establishes awards for top VolunteersGaddi H. Vasquez has established the Kennedy Service Awards to honor the hard work and service of two current Peace Corps Volunteers, two returned Peace Corps Volunteers, and two Peace Corps staff members. The award to currently serving volunteers will be based on a demonstration of impact, sustainability, creativity, and catalytic effect. Submit your nominations by December 9.

Peace Corps at highest Census in 30 yearsCongratulations to the Peace Corps for the highest number of volunteers in 30 years with 7,810 volunteers serving in 71 posts across the globe. Of course, the President's proposal to double the Peace Corps to 15,000 volunteers made in his State of the Union Address in 2002 is now a long forgotten dream. With deficits in federal spending stretching far off into the future, any substantive increase in the number of volunteers will have to wait for new approaches to funding and for a new administration. Choose your candidate and start working for him or her now.

The Peace Corps LibraryPeace Corps Online is proud to announce that the Peace Corps Library is now available online. With over 30,000 index entries in 500 categories, this is the largest collection of Peace Corps related stories in the world. From Acting to Zucchini, you can find hundreds of stories about what RPCVs with your same interests or from your Country of Service are doing today. If you have a web site, support the "Peace Corps Library" and link to it today.

Friends of the Peace Corps 170,000 strong170,000 is a very special number for the RPCV community - it's the number of Volunteers who have served in the Peace Corps since 1961. It's also a number that is very special to us because March is the first month since our founding in January, 2001 that our readership has exceeded 170,000. And while we know that not everyone who comes to this site is an RPCV, they are all "Friends of the Peace Corps." Thanks everybody for making PCOL your source of news for the Returned Volunteer community.

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Story Source: Washington Post

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; NPCA; Military; Safety and Security of Volunteers; Speaking Out

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